Subcommittee Forwards Farm Bill Recommendations to Full Committee; Extends 2002 Farm Bill Commodity Programs

News Date June 29, 2007

The House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management approved last week proposals for the commodity and crop insurance programs for the 2007 Farm Bill. Congressman Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.) is the chairman of the subcommittee. The subcommittee considered discussion drafts outlining proposals under its jurisdiction and approved several amendments. 

The subcommittee unanimously approved an amendment offered by Etheridge that substituted an extension of the 2002 farm bill language for the commodity programs under its jurisdiction in the place of the discussion draft. This retains the basic farm safety net by extending marketing assistance loans, direct payments and counter-cyclical payments and keeps intact the percentage of base acres for which farmers may receive payments. The committee also considered and rejected amendments representing alternative farm bill proposals. A brief summary of the discussion drafts considered and amendments adopted is available online at: http://agriculture.house.gov/inside/2007FarmBill.html. 

Among the amendments approved were: 
* Congressman Jim Marshall's (D-Ga.) amendment to adjust premiums and discounts associated with cotton under loan, to recalculate the  adjusted world price of cotton based on Far East markets as opposed to Northern European markets, and to provide economic assistance cotton users. 
* Congressman Brad Ellsworth's (D-Ind.) amendment to create a pilot program in Indiana to allow for the planting of tomatoes grown and contracted for processing on up to 10,000 base acres, reducing base acres on an acre-by-acre basis for each acre of tomatoes planted. 
* Congressman Jerry Moran's (R-Kan.) amendment expressing the sense of Congress that money used to fund programs under the subcommittee's jurisdiction should not be transferred to fund programs authorized or reauthorized under any other title of the Farm Bill.
 
The discussion draft on the crop insurance program considered by the subcommittee allows USDA to renegotiate the standard
reinsurance agreement subject to limitations, improves crop insurance policies for organically raised crops and targets risk management strategies and education for beginning, immigrant, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. In addition to the discussion draft, the subcommittee approved the following amendment: 

Congressman Randy Neugebauer's (R-Texas) amendment to give farmers the option to purchase supplemental area-based crop insurance in addition to their individual yield or revenue policy. 

The House Agriculture Committee announced last week that the full committee mark ups scheduled for this week are postponed. Committee markup will most likely start after the July 4th recess, starting the week of July 9. (Contact: Jennifer Yezak)